The 11th International Conference on Environmental Enrichment (ICEE) will be held from 15-18 October 2013 at Dinokeng, a region in northern Gauteng rich in natural, cultural and historical heritage sites.

The National Zoological Gardens of South Africa (NZG) is proud to host an unusual conference for animal behaviourists, where knowledge will be gained and shared through personal experience and contextual learning in the wild African bush.

This is the first ICEE conference to be held in a wilderness context, taking the delegates into the realm of the wild where nature will offer solutions and ideas for replication within facilities. The behaviour of animals in zoos will be discussed during a visit to the NZG, while bush tracking experiences are expected to enhance the participants' ability to increase their visitors' understanding of conservation.

With its central theme of Visitor experience through environmental enrichment, considerable attention will be paid to looking at ways of using environmental enrichment to enhance the experience of visitors to the facilities represented at the conference.

"The theme, which forms the basis of this conference will look at how we, as care-givers and animal management professionals, can add to animal welfare through enrichment. At the same time we are offering an educational experience for our wide range of visitors - adults, learners and patrons," says Robynn Ingle-Möller, Environmental Enrichment Coordinator at the NZG. She stresses the fact that environmental enrichment is a valuable component of any husbandry programme, whether in a zoo, a farm or a laboratory.

Hundreds of professionals ranging from veterinarians, veterinary students and technicians to zoo curators, animal keepers and animal behavioural scientists are expected to attend the conference.